U.S. President Donald Trump with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the White House on November 7, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok/Flickr)
Far-right Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is up for reelection on Sunday, April 12, and he has received a glowing endorsement from U.S. President Donald Trump. Many other MAGA Republicans are rooting for Orbán as well, from "War Room" host Steve Bannon to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Orbán's opponents in Hungary, however, believe they have a good shot at removing him from office on April 12. And Salon's Heather Digby Parton, in an article published on March 31, emphasizes that if Orbán loses, it will not only be a loss for the Hungarian prime minister and his Fidesz party — it will also be a loss for MAGA and other far-right populist movements.
"For the first time in 16 years," Parton explains, "Orbán is facing a tough reelection battle. Hungarians will go to the polls on April 12, and if the elections are fair and uncorrupted, it appears Orbán and his Hungarian Civil Union Party, known as Fidesz, will lose. Current polling averages show his chief rival, Péter Magyar of the Respect and Freedom Party, more commonly referred to as Tisza, with a healthy 15-point lead that has held for most of the past year. But in Hungary, which has been defined as an 'electoral autocracy,' a manipulated electoral map coupled with Orbán's years of corruption mean there is no guarantee that Magyar can pull off a victory, even with a commanding lead."
Parton adds, "Still, it's the best chance in years to unseat the prime minister, as the widespread discontent has caused several other parties with smaller constituencies to step back in an effort to consolidate the anti-government vote behind Magyar and Tisza."
The Salon journalist argues that although Hungary's economy "is in bad shape," Orbán is adored by the far right — from the Heritage Foundation in the United States to Marine Le Pen (ex-leader of the National Rally party) in France.
"Hungary, under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is a dark, repressive place," Parton laments. "But Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation — the conservative think tank that has given America, among other gifts, Project 2025 — has called it not just the 'model for modern statecraft, but the model'…. Virtually every right-wing extremist in the world counts him as an inspiration, starting with his good pal (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, who supplies almost all of Hungary's energy needs, and China's Xi Jinping, who counts Hungary as its closest EU ally. Nearly every far-right leader in Europe — France's Marine LePen, Germany's Alice Weidel, Spain's Santiago Abascal, Poland's Karol Nawrocki and the Netherlands' Geert Wilders — has made appearances in support of Orbán."
Parton adds, "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave his endorsement, as did the chainsaw-wielding leader Javier Milei of Argentina…. The Hungarian prime minister is revered by authoritarians everywhere, and because he has been such a path-breaking autocrat demonstrating the new soft fascism, his impending loss seems to be making them nervous….. A defeat on April 12 would be seen as a loss for all the right-wing tyrants and various despots around the world who have been inspired by his 'model state' and strongman tactics. This includes Donald Trump, whose new world order was largely inspired by the Hungarian prime minister."